Monday, 11 July 2016

Jenson Button: McLaren driver facing wait until September over new deal

Jenson Button will have to wait
until at least September to find out whether McLaren want to retain him
alongside Fernando Alonso in 2017.

Chairman Ron Dennis says he
will not consider whether to choose Button or reserve driver Stoffel
Vandoorne until the Italian Grand Prix.
"We're not even talking about it until Monza," Dennis told BBC Sport. "Why should we decide now?"
Button, the 2009 world champion, is out of contract at the end of the season.
Dennis said there was no advantage in deciding now because, among other reasons, "you just disenchant a driver".
The
team are believed likely to choose Belgian Vandoorne, who out-qualified
the Briton and scored a point on his grand prix debut in Bahrain this
year, where he was standing in for the injured Alonso.
But the decision could yet go in favour of Button, who has strong marketing appeal, vast experience and proven capability.
Alonso and Button are 14th and 15th respectively in the drivers' championship standings.
If
McLaren did choose Button, they would likely try to retain a
contractual relationship with Vandoorne and perhaps farm him out to
another team to gain experience and better judge his potential.
Dennis said in May
that he considered the Belgian "an integral part of McLaren-Honda's
future", adding: "Any team that imagines they may be able to poach him
is very much mistaken. You may rest assured Stoffel is not for sale."
Vandoorne,
who is considered the hottest prospect not yet in a full Formula 1
seat, is of interest to Renault, whose team principal Frederic Vasseur
rates the 24-year-old extremely highly having run him in the GP2 feeder
series, of which he is the reigning champion.
But Vandoorne cannot sign for another team until an option date in his McLaren contract lapses in the autumn.
Button is also of interest to Williams, who are likely to drop Brazilian Felipe Massa for next season.
Button's manager Richard Goddard said the 36-year-old had not yet decided what he wanted to do next season.
Williams
have an option on Finn Valtteri Bottas and are likely to retain him,
but have made no final decision on their driver line-up.
Alonso is
under contract to McLaren until the end of 2017 and has said he will
not make a decision on his future beyond that until he has experienced
the new cars and Pirelli tyres that are being introduced next season.
These
are aimed at making the cars a greater challenge to drive with the
tyres able to withstand being driven much harder for a longer period
than the current design, which have to be managed extensively.
The
two-time champion told Sportmasta earlier this year that the tyres would
be "a big factor" in his decision but added that if he stays in F1 into
2018 it will be with McLaren.